In the early 20th century, when media technologies were born, video on-demand platforms had yet to exist and were still a long way from taking hold of society. Today, as we are diving into the streaming age, new innovations allow for extremely quick data transmissions, while the time needed for audience feedback is becoming shorter and shorter. On top of such general market disruption, Artificial Intelligence now makes it possible to foresee viewer preferences and enable platforms to predict what a user will do, including where he or she will click next inside the platform infrastructure.

At MediaTech Hub Conference, we seek to understand the impact and consequences that these new delivery methods of content distribution bring. We are therefore pleased to dedicate a whole track on our Entertainment Stage to the topic of MediaTech and Distribution. What will the future bring for independent and international film in the streaming age, and how can media technology help to win viewers’ hearts by matchmaking stories and storytellers to the right audiences?

Cult Classic or Viral Hit? Independent & International Film in the Streaming Age

Do indie movies still have a chance in the age of on-demand streaming? That is the main question of the fireside chat with film producer and multiple Oscar nominee Ted Hope. The former Head of the Creative Division at Amazon studios launched Amazon’s foray into feature film in 2015. He will describe the challenges and barriers of on-demand-platforms and the impact they have on indie and international productions. Between an increasing demand for original content for mainstream audiences on one hand, and the continuing rise of streaming platforms on the other, streaming platforms appear to be both a blessing and a curse. Now, filmmakers have to ask themselves if they are to follow mainstream trends and produce in accordance to data-based algorithms that show what users “really want”. Or, if they are to follow their own inner muse to produce according to a story that they have in mind. With this difficult question, we count on veteran Ted Hope to share his insights with us and broaden our horizons at #mthcon2021.

Matchmaking Stories, Storytellers & Audiences: How Tech helps Win Viewers’ Hearts

Can you win viewers’ hearts with MediaTech? This topic has been an emerging thought trend, which we will address in an expert discussion between Utelly-CEO Romain Eude, Andrea Giannone Acea, Founder of the Filmmarkethub and Ganna Pogrebna, Professor for Behavioral Economics and Data Science at the University of Birmingham on the MediaTech Hub Conference Entertainment stage.

By now, it seems that a deep understanding of viewer preferences can allow platforms to lead the viewer to watch a specific movie, without them even realising it. It is as if a platform is teaching the viewer “what he or she really wants”—which in turn has an immense impact on decisions about viewer acquisition.

Team Germany in the Race for Streamers

German TV channels have a huge potential for succeeding in the streaming race. Yet, for now, it seems that Germany is lagging behind. The bright side is that public broadcasting stations ARD and ZDF are increasingly investing into media centres to polish their content portfolios, while private channels such as ProSiebenSat.1 Media und Discovery as well as RTL Group are building up their streaming libraries too.

It is now a reality that platform presence and technologies often have a larger impact on the buying decisions of users than the media content themselves. What is the current status quo, where does the trend point to, and what is the long-term vision of German decision-makers? We look forward to discuss with Jonas Schlatterbeck, Head of Content for ARD-Mediathek, ifs-Professor and former Non-Fiction-Lead of Netflix Jennifer Mival and more representatives from both German public and private media outlets.

Join us on November 11, 2021!